


A Squirrel Named Thingol

by StarsOverTheEast



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Fluffy, Gen, Sam's calling Mairon and Melkor ugly may not reflect the author's personal opinions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2019-01-11 00:48:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12311337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarsOverTheEast/pseuds/StarsOverTheEast
Summary: "Suddenly old Morgoth came crashing down from his throne, banging his head on the floor and falling into a deep sleep. His snores shook the whole fortress, why they were even louder than Pippin’s!”-Sam tells Elanor a bedtime story featuring an elf princess, a warrior, and a talking dog.Or, ‘Beren and Lúthien: Children’s Edition.'





	A Squirrel Named Thingol

Rosie had only set out the third pie when Elanor let out her first yawn of the night.

A little yawn, barely noticeable behind her large, blue rabbit and among the chatter of an evening’s polite gathering, but noticed all the same.

“Someone looks sleepy.” Pippin said, practically licking his plate clean as Rosie began to carve out the first piece.

“Am not!”

Slipping the piece of apple pie onto her husband’s plate, much to Pippin’s disappointment, Rosie dropped the knife onto the table and moved across the room to her daughter’s side. Scooping the little hobbit up she turned her feet towards the hall. 

“Time for bed.”

“I’m not sleepy!”

No sooner had the words left Elanor’s mouth than a second yawn followed and she quickly covered her mouth with her hands.

“If you don’t go now Papa might not tell you a bedtime story.”

Elanor seemed to consider this, propping her chin on her mother’s shoulder to gaze back at the table where Sam still sat. 

“Wouldn’t want to miss that!” Pippin piped up, cutting into the pie. 

“Will you come now Papa?”

“Of course.”

Pushing his seat back from the table Sam got to his feet and within seconds Elanor had been passed to his arms and Rosie had been left his instructions not to let Pippin consume the whole pie; no matter how much he whined and begged.

Several minutes later and Sam placed the last of Elanor’s plush toys in its proper spot on her bed. No less than fifteen sat there, all smiles and welcoming arms to comfort small hobbits through the night. 

“Well then,” he said, lowering himself onto the edge of the bed. “what kind of story will it be tonight?” 

He nodded towards the rather large horse beside him, a gift from Aragorn and Arwen. “Something about Brego?”

“No Papa, a new story!”

Sam placed a hand to his chin, stroking at an unseen beard. “A new story, hmm … how about one that King Elessar told me and Frodo once?”

“Yes!”

Sam smiled, settling back against the foot board as he gathered his thoughts. 

“Once upon a time, in a land only now named in stories and songs, there lived an elf named Lúthien. She was a princess, and almost as pretty as you and Mama. She dressed in blue and everywhere she went flowers would spring up right under her feet! Every bird and creature in the forest would come creeping out to watch her dance and listen to her sing. She was something special, even among all the other elves.”

“One day while she was out dancing and singing a man by the name of Beren happened to be out walking too. He was a famous warrior, and had killed all kinds of nasty beasts and orcs in his time.”

“Like you Papa?”

Sam paused, a smile appearing on his face as he swung his arm in the fashion of one drawing a sword.

“A little.”

“Now Beren was feeling mighty tired that day but when he laid eyes on all that just up and vanished. He fell under a spell of sorts as he watched her and all he could do was think about how pretty she was. He had a bit of a crush on her you see, and didn’t quite know how to speak to her. Which was just as well, the poor fellow didn’t even know her name!”

“This went on for a long while, her dancing and him just watching. Only after many hours did he manage to get enough courage and call out to her, and you know what name he called her?”

Sam leaned forward, beckoning Elanor as though about to impart some great secret. Curious she bent towards him.

“Tinúviel! Named her after a nightingale he did, the prettiest bird song he could think of. Now when she heard him call she stopped all of her dancing and came to him. And wouldn’t you know it but she fell in love just as fast as he had! Oh they made a mighty fine couple, walking together for days and days. I don’t suppose either of them had sense enough to even come in for supper they were so in love.”

“Eventually though they made their way back to the place where Lúthien lived. Beren had come to the mind that he wanted to marry her and everyone knows you can’t take a girl as your wife without first asking her papa for his permission. Lúthien’s papa was named Thingol.”

“Thingol,” said Elanor, testing the name in her mouth. “It sounds funny!”

She glanced over to where her little squirrel sat, an yet unnamed gift from Merry. 

“He will be called Thingol!”she declared.

“Now don’t go naming things after them before you’ve heard the rest of the story! Thingol was a protective papa, as all good ones are, and he didn’t much like the idea of Lúthien marrying this man he’d never met. In fact he threatened to toss Beren right into the dungeons!”

Elanor gasped, casting a horrified stare at the squirrel.

“But Lúthien said such nice things about Beren, and he said the same about her. Thingol had to give him a chance.”

Puffing out his chest Sam got to his feet and raised his arm, his hand clutching at a fake specter in the manner of a king. Narrowing his eyes and deepening his voice he spoke to the plush dog at the bottom of the bed.

“If you can bring prove your courage and bring me a Silmaril I’ll let you marry Lúthien!”

Elanor clapped her hands together and Sam, feeling quite proud of his performance, returned to his seat.

“The Silmaril was a jewel of sorts, a pretty thing created by one of the elves. It was hidden in a far away castle, protected by all sorts of monsters. Thingol knew it would be a real challenge but he figured if Beren could get his hands on it than there would be nothing he couldn’t protect Lúthien from.”

“Well Beren knew he’d need help for this adventure so he went visiting a friend, another elf by the name of Finrod. Finrod had been friends with Beren’s papa and had promised if he ever needed him for an adventure, he’d come. And when he made a promise, he aimed to keep it.”

“They sat off together and before long they came to the first trouble in their adventure. A group of orcs all waiting in the road for them, just looking to cause trouble. But do you know what Finrod did? He disguised them to look like orcs themselves and they snuck past just as pretty as you please. Oh but they didn’t get very far after that, because Sauron was there.”

“Sauron!” Elanor squeaked, hugging her rabbit at the mention of the name. Not that she was terribly frightened, Sauron was long gone, but it seemed the appropriate thing to do. 

“That’s right, mean old Sauron. He saw who they were right off and got into quite the fight with Finrod. Both singing and hollering at one another but Sauron was powerful in those days and he pushed them into a big pit. They had to sit there, with no breakfast, dinner, or supper.”

Elanor seemed to consider this and then, like a proper hobbit, showed her contempt for such a punishment with a small pout. Sam let out a laugh and patted her on the knee.

“They didn’t have to sit very long though, Lúthien was still at her papa’s house and like all elves she had magic. She felt that something bad had happened and decided she would go after Beren and help him out. It wasn’t so easy for her though. Her papa had been afraid she would follow Beren earlier and get hurt and had built her a big house in a tree to stay in. I’m sure it had all the fine comforts of home but Lúthien climbed right down and set off to help Beren.”

“She didn’t get very far either. There were two more elves out walking the land and they caused her a fair bit of trouble. Telling her lies and making her follow them around on wild goose chases. I won’t go into all that but I will tell you that one of them had a dog.”

“Like Rollo!” Elanor squealed, thinking of the kind hobbit boy who was often seen being trailed by a dog or three.

“That’s right! This dog’s name was Huan and he was special. Big and powerful he was, and able to speak. In the very same way that we do!”

Elanor’s eyes grew round at this detail, contemplating the concept of a fuzzy playmate that could share silly stories and play hide and seekers.

“He had grown fond of Lúthien and wanted to help her the best he could. They talked together and one night while no one was watching she climbed onto his back and they rode away to find Beren.”

“Meanwhile Beren and Finrod were still cooped up in that nasty hole and Sauron thinking himself clever sent a wolf to scare them a bit. But Finrod wasn’t having none of that. He fought and killed the creature all by himself. It was about that time that Lúthien showed up and rescued them both.

“It wasn’t easy. Sauron sent wolf after wolf to try and catch them but Huan was bigger than all of them and tossed them all aside. Sauron didn’t take too kindly to that for he made himself into a great big wolf himself and came running at them both. I suppose he would have eaten them both but Huan fought him back, holding the rascal down until he changed back into a man and gave the whole place he had over to Lúthien. He took off then, like a proper coward, and she rescued Beren and Finrod from that nasty hole.”

Sam’s voice dropped then, his forehead creasing as he spoke the next few words.

“I’m sorry to say that poor old Finrod was too tired to go on. They had to leave him there, alone on a grassy hill.”

His words might have been darker but Rosie was ever listening and it wouldn’t do to upset her. Elanor seemed unfazed though rubbing her nose against the rabbit’s soft fur as she waited for him to carry on.

“Beren found himself in some trouble then. He was happy to see Lúthien and I imagine mighty grateful that she had showed up. But he still had to get a hold of the Silmaril somehow and he couldn’t bear the thought of taking her with him.”

“But Lúthien wasn’t about to leave him anymore and neither was Huan, and he said as much. And Lúthien was clever. They put on disguises and rode right up to the castle. Sneaking past every guard and beast that lived there.”

“Now Sauron, the old villian, he had a master himself. Uglier, meaner, and even nastier! He was the one that had built the castle and wore the jewel in a crown on his head. His name was Morgoth and he was about the worst person to have ever lived. And while the disguises might have worked on most everybody else Lúthien knew they would never work on one so mean as he was.”

Scrunching up his face in the manner in the manner of the villains in Elanor’s storybooks Sam pointed a finger at her. 

“Who dares come before the mighty Morgoth!” Sam yelled, his voice sounding rather more comical than scary. “The meanest, nastiest, brute in the whole, wide world!”

Elanor stuck out her tongue at such a show and Sam’s act quickly gave way to his chuckles.

“What do you think they done?”

Elanor shook her head.

“I don’t know Papa.”

“Lúthien sang for him! She sang and she danced and he didn’t have the sense enough to suspect his treasure was in trouble. I imagine he would have sent her running if he had known what her plan was. Well she sang and sang and sang and he began to feel tired, like you do after a long day of play. Suddenly old Morgoth came crashing down from his throne, banging his head on the floor and falling into a deep sleep. His snores shook the whole fortress, why they were even louder than Pippin’s!”

“I heard that!” came a cry from the sitting room, closely followed by the sound of a smack and a dramatic, cry of pain. Elanor let out a squeal of laughter and Sam grinned. 

“This had been her plan all along you see and when the crown came rolling off the villian’s head Beren sprang for it. They cut the Silmaril right out of the crown and they may have taken more but Morgoth was a light sleeper and was already beginning to come around. They ran off as fast as they could but a great wolf of Morgoth’s came chasing after them. Beren turned to fight him and just as quick as you please the wolf jumped up and snapped his hand right off. (‘Ew!’ Elanor cried.) He would have gobbled them both down then but that was the moment when the eagles arrived.”

“The eagles!” 

Elanor grinned and reached for her plush eagle, a gift from Gandalf. 

“That’s right! The eagles, good birds that they are, had come to help them. They carried Beren and Lúthien far away, all the way back to her papa’s house where they would be safe from Morgoth. But Beren had been holding the jewel in his hand and the wolf had swallowed it. You can imagine they were sad about that and for a while they just sat together, happy to be in peaceful lands once more. But Beren had made a promise and Lúthien was probably missing her papa and mama both.”

“They were missing her,” Elanor said suddenly, as though this were the most obvious fact in the world. Sam could have imagined it but he thought he heard Rosie sniff.

“They were. The whole town and all of her papa’s house became happy again when they seen them coming. I think Thingol was pretty surprised to see Beren again but as I said he had a made a promise and told Thingol right off that he had stolen the Silmaril just like he said he would. Well of course Thingol asked to see it and Beren had to admit that it was far away in the belly of a wolf. They all sat down after that and had a long discussion and that was about the time that Thingol really came around to the idea of Beren marrying Lúthien.”

Picking up the small dog Sam sat it in his lap, using it as a puppet to act out the next bit of the story.

“Well while they were talking that very same wolf was out running around tearing down everything in his path. The Silmaril was still sitting in his belly and it was giving him quite the stomachache. He ran here and there and everywhere trying to find a good drink of water and was scaring every sensible folk in the process. Word got back to Beren and Lúthien and Thingol gathered up a hunting party to go and find the beast.”

In Sam’s lap the dog wiggled about, yipping and shaking and even nibbling at Elanor’s toes. 

“They took Huan with them of course, he was a fine friend after all, and before very long they came across the scoundrel. He had found a good, clear pool of water and was drinking as much as he could hold. Well Huan thought to sneak up on him but the vile thing got past him and leap right at Beren!”

The plush dog suddenly growled and bounced over the covers toward Elanor’s bunny. Without delay the little hobbit reached for her second dog, a flurry white one and a gift from Pippin. The two fell into each other, a mess of fuzzy limbs and barking that sounded more like giggles.

“That’s exactly what Huan did, jumped right on the back of that old wolf and they had a fight the likes of which I doubt anyone will ever see again. It seemed to go on forever but Huan was brave and strong and at the very last he threw the beast down.”

Sam suddenly recalled his own dog and reached over to pet Elanor’s toy on the head. 

“But Huan, poor Huan, had suffered many wounds in the battle and he laid down next to Beren and bid him farewell. I’m afraid he died there but he was a good dog, maybe the best that has ever lived and I’m sure they remembered long after that.”

“They carried them both back to Thingol’s house and Lúthien -”

A bead of sweat rose on Sam’s forehead and he hesitated for a second. 

“Lúthien could tell poor Beren had been hurt too, badly he was. So great though was her love for him that she traveled over the sea with him. Went to that place of healing and song where the elves go.”

“Where Mr. Frodo went?”

“ … Aye, where Mr. Frodo went. She came before one of its masters and sang for him the prettiest song there ever was. A song so sad and lovely that this master couldn’t bear to listen any longer and asked her what it was she wanted.”

“Well of course all she wanted was for Beren to get better and after a long talk with his own master the master came back and offered her a choice. To forget about Beren and live happy all the rest of her days or become a human, just like he was. Lúthien picked the second choice and they came back together healed and happy.”

“Did they get married?”

“Aye, I’ve never heard tell of it but I’m sure it was a very beautiful wedding. They had a little baby of their own too and lived happily together on their own little isle. And you know what they would say to that little baby every night?”

Elanor shook her head.

“That it is time to sleep!”

Sam laughed and getting to his feet gently pulled the cover up to rest snugly under Elanor’s chin. Kissing her forehead and giving her rabbit, a gift from Frodo, a final pat he stepped back.

“It was a good story Papa.” Elanor said, a small smile on her face. “I liked it a lot.”

Satisfied with the ending the first blinks of sleep had begun to claim her and Sam reached down to snuff out the small candle by her bedside. 

“I’m glad you did.” he replied, taking careful steps back towards the door. “Tomorrow I’ll tell you the story of -”

But Elanor’s eyes had already closed and the stuffed bear sitting atop her chest rose and fell with her steady breathing. With a smile Sam stepped from the room.

“Goodnight, my little Lúthien.”


End file.
